Optimization of Coal Transportation Cost for NTPC Owned Power Stations

The demand for electricity has been rising at an exponential rate since Independence. Though the power generation has increased manifold over these years, but it has not been able to keep pace with the increasing demand. Keeping in mind the per capita income in the nation, the policymakers need to arrive at a sustainable energy model to integrate self-sufficiency with affordability. The Coal Linkage agreements between the power stations, the Indian Railways and the coal blocks which were established a long time back continue to exist till today. Even though the rail connectivity and the number of mines have improved over these years, no major changes have been made in the coal allocation model pan India. The study seeks to optimize coal transportation cost for 19 NTPC owned power plants using Linear Optimization techniques and seeks to evaluate the annual profitability of these power stations. The study does not suggest the adoption of this optimized model but aims to draw an insight of the dire need to reallocate the coal blocks to achieve higher levels of supply chain surplus which could be passed on to the customers as customer surplus. Citation: Rohit Kumar, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani; Deepankar Shahi ,Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. "Optimization of Coal Transportation Cost for NTPC Owned Power Stations." Global Research and Development Journal For Engineering 37 2018: 4 - 12.